From where he'll be standing on the New England Patriots' sideline Sunday, don't be surprised if Daniel Fells watches the Broncos' offense and wonders, "What in the world is that?"

If the Broncos' offense holds form against the Patriots, the team's new tight ends will be a far bigger part of the passing game than Fells was when he was Denver's top tight end a year ago.

Consider: In 16 games last season, Fells had 19 catches and three touchdowns for the Broncos, and the tight end group as a whole had only 30 receptions.

Through four games this year, Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen have combined for 29 catches and three touchdowns.

"It's just a matter of the way it's designed. We're trying to spread the ball to a lot of different guys, and tight ends are just some of those pieces," Tamme said. "Different game plans will deal with different things, but we're going to involve a lot of different people."

Last week's game against Oakland provided the perfect example of how reliant Peyton Manning has become on his tight ends. The first touchdown of the game went to Dreessen, who caught a 22-yard pass in traffic in the end zone.

On two other critical plays -- a fourth-and-1 and a third-and-1, both in the first quarter -- Manning threw quick completions to Tamme, two of Tamme's five catches in Denver's 37-6 victory against Oakland.

"It was fun to make some big catches there last week in those types of situations.

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That's what you want," Tamme said. "It's not going to work out perfectly every time, but you want the opportunity to be that guy and do that for your team. That was fun last week, and we need to find ways to do that again."

With Tamme and Dreessen now significant pieces of thepassing game, the Broncos are catching up to the league-wide trend of using a tight end as a featured receiver.

Sunday's opponent, the Patriots, have done it better than just about any team in recent seasons.

Quarterback Tom Brady said the offense didn't make a philosophical switch to emphasize the tight ends as much as the Patriots drafted two elite tight ends in the 2010 draft, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and the offense evolved to fit. This year, the Patriots also added Fells, the former Bronco, and Michael Hoomanawanui. The Patriots' tight ends have 27 catches for 341 yards and four touchdowns this year. Gronkowski has the bulk of that total, with 19 catches, 260 yards and three scores. Hernandez is not expected to play against the Broncos because of an ankle injury.

"They've definitely added a different element for us in the passing game and in the running game. They can all run routes and catch the ball, but they are also good blockers, too," Brady said. "That's the most important thing. At that position, you have to be able to do both. If you're just a pass-catcher, then you really don't bring that physical element to the field and our guys take a lot of pride in that."

As do the Broncos, who are hoping the addition of Virgil Green will help diversify their tight end corps.

Green returns to the active roster this week after serving a four-game suspension. He proved to be the group's best blocker in the preseason, with the versatility to line up in multiple formations, including as a fullback.

"He worked extremely hard this offseason and did a nice job all through camp," offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said. "He's another one of those 'Y' tight ends who can put his hand in the ground, and if we flex him out, he does a nice job of blocking, so it's nice to have him back to help everybody out."

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